my upstairs neighbors are "hippo-phants"

why hello there.

long time no... tell/read.

hope you are all doing well!

as for myself...

just fantastic - and i honestly mean that.

des moines has me feeling right at home - give or take the two and a half hours that i am away from "home".

facebook has been my go to lately to keep everyone posted, but ill still try to give a brief over view of my life the past, well, however long it has been since i last posted,

because aside from all the working and sleeping i've been doing, i try to find the time, but life gets in the way... as usual.

but here goes:

for starters, and most importantly...

my nails are extremely long and make almost every girl jealous, "are those real?!" - even some guys, because unlike keifer, they don't get an amazing back/head scratch every night;p

ok but no seriously:

i have a new nephew!!!

how adorable is he, you ask?

umm, well... f***ing adorable!

Jace Michael Riley:)

i fell in love with him the second i saw him - just way too precious.

it's these past 3 weeks that make me wish i was still in storm lake... seeing him grow and change every day - i hate missing out on that part of being an auntie!

but part of the missing out has been...

a wonderful weekend getaway with keifer, just the two of us, to pammel state park in winterset.

we rented out a lodge that sleeps up to eight people, as well as a stove, fridge, and microwave, so plenty of space, as well as a fire pit and charcoal grill and picnic table outside.

 and thankfully we have friends like mollie and meghan that watched easton and daisy for us so that weekend could happen for us - definitely and very long overdue. 

i have also had a couple nights where the "roomie", also known as the one and only whitney, and i get together and do something - wednesdays are our typical "roomie nights",

whether it's going out for a bite to eat or having a drink or two or laying out in our "backyard". they've become one of my favorite nights of the week that i look forward to.

i've also got to spend some valuable time with jovee and journee while erin and shane had a getaway - they are just too precious (even if i only got three hours of sleep one of the nights lol). 

i still cant get over how much i love being closer to erin, especially when she works on wednesdays, which is one of my days off, so i go and sit at her salon for a few hours and just chit chat. (are you sick of me yet, erin?)

i've also got to see my aunt and uncle and one of my cousins that i rarely ever get to see: james, nicole, and madison.

madison had a soccer game in johnston so i got to catch up with them for a bit, and watch madison's team. and then nicole's parents took madison and i out for lunch, which it was great seeing them as well. i believe we all agreed that it had been probably ten years since i saw them last, but maybe even longer.

my mom, pika, and the girls, also made a trip to des moines to do some summer shopping and stay in a hotel. so while they were here keifer and i had the pleasure of taking them out to eat at joe's crab shack (of course we paid... who wouldn't offer to pay when we were getting 50% off cause it's my place of employment?! lol just kidding - it really was our pleasure... being they had driven all that way to see us!)

they also stopped by my apartment and got to see just exactly where it is that i am living now.

mom is quite pleased with the location, and she likes that when i tell her stories now she can actually envision what i am talking about - so that's good, right!

so interesting, unimportant, but relevant to giving you updates.

easton had some "bug".

it was a few days he was, well let's just say you couldn't tell what came out of his mouth and what came out of his butt.

so he went to the doggy doctor.

and johana if you are reading this, your input would be appreciated...

but...

after being told that his temp was fine and his skin and color was all fine - you know all that animal stuff they check - and after i spend $98.00 to here that the "bug" had passed, we find out that my baby boy is, well, only 1/2 a man dog now.

yes, you read that correctly. he only has one testicle. obviously, the other never dropped and won't. 

they told me he needs to be fixed, but is that because it is life threatening? or because they believe getting your pets fixed is the right thing to do in all situations, good or bad?

so now, my adorable, precious baby easton is "off in the head" and only has one testicle. 

i think it only makes me love him that much more - my special mr. easton.

i've got to spend time with mollie, meghan, and brenna as well.

when don't i have a good time with them?!

just recently did i meet them all and start getting together with them, but all we do is laugh, or so it seems!

and even though i am (almost) 22, it was nice having someone to go to and stay the night with when i didn't want to be alone in my own bed (thanks mollie!).

as many of you know, i am in the process of becoming a manager at joe's! Eeeek:D

so yesterday, i finally got my application and resume put in for the position and all the testing done that is required as well.

when the district manager gets it all looked over, i will be having an interview with him - nervous... - and then i will have to spend at least 200 hours in the kitchen and so many shifts behind the bar before i get the title, and pay. 

so, no, it's not totally official yet.

but i was offered the position by my general manager - whom said he thought i was best fit for this position, "...i believe you won't let other walk all over you." or somewhere along those lines. so in other words, "you are a b****, and in this case, that is O. K." lol.

coming up:

june 5th, which is a thursday, i am flying to texas once again to pick up my beautiful niece kitana and bring her back to iowa for the summer, as i did last year. 

that friday, keifer, kitana, and i will make our way to storm lake so she can be reunited with all her dad's side of the family.

keifer and i will be spending the weekend there, and i couldn't be more excited. it's not all that often that he gets to join me back home, being our schedules are on two different pages.

but,

on a different note...

ok, no, maybe its the same note:

i. am. tired!

SURPRISE, surprise!!

haha

so i'm going to leave this one at that.

time flies

so it has been a while.

this i am well aware of ... sorry.

i know i'm not the first to say that life has a thing for getting in the way.

sleep

eat

work

...

not even on my days off do i get break:

laundry

cleaning

paying bills

grocery shopping

picking up extra shifts

and trying to catch up on some sleep.
therefore, all i have time for tonight is something short and sweet.

so going on my third month being in des moines, things couldn't get much better.
of course i miss my family and few friends back in alta and storm lake, 
but this move has been working out for easton and myself.
we get to spend a lot of time with keifer and daisy, and even dillon and baylor.
though i see them way more now than ever before, i feel as though i still don't see "the blakelys" enough.
i've met some possible candidates for new friends... i say possible cause everyone knows how miriah and "friends" go.
libbie and i had a chance to get together and catch up - 2 years of catching up to do... overdo one might say.
we found a walking trail/park two blocks from the apartment, so now that the weather is somewhat cooperating, that'll probably be our new hangout.
not only am i a full time server at joe's, i have taken on the title of the "retail guru" as well - i'll be in charge of inventory of all retail products as well as placing orders weekly and monthly, and keeping the gift shop in order, which will be no problem for me, right?! so i'll be working thursday-tuesday at the wonderful joe's crab shack:)

my mom, the twins, and the step dad will be here over easter weekend - finally they will get to see the new apartment and join me for lunch at joe's.
i'm babysitting jovee and journee for a couple days in a couple weeks so erin and shane can get away - couldn't ask for a better way to spend my days off:D yay!!!
but as for tonight, keifer and i will be stuffing our faces with cheesy enchiladas, cheese sticks, a beer or two, and watching a movie before bed - for tomorrow is my monday, which came all too quickly.

until next time my friends!

"my name is miriah, and i will be your server tonight!"

just a little history before i get into my present day topic of this post:

joe's crab shack is not my first serving job.

my first experience was at american legends bar and grill for three months while i was going to cosmetology school.

second was at regatta grille in storm lake, where if there wasn't uncertainty about college, i would have became a supervisor there within only a couple months on the job.

third, martinis bar and grill where i lost my job because owners filed bankruptcy.

my point...
and topic of choice:

some of you understand everything i am about to unload on you - like dawn, eric, and jacob.

others may not - like mollie or, sorry mom, but sometimes even you.

now this has to do with a lot of my own opinion (having served in both a small town and a bigger city) but also what i have gathered from other servers (having worked with both, in my opinion, bad and good server) - cause i agree, not all servers are good awesome like me... 

ok, so here are a few pointers or better yet, some advice/insight:
(sorry if i get to sounding b****y... this is not something i take lightly)

1. does anyone know how much servers make an hour?

bartenders it varies, but any ideas on that?

well let me tell ya...

servers: $4.35/hr... and we don't get raises... EVER.

bartenders: $5.35/hr to $7.25/hr... that depends on the management and business.

2. have you ever had such bad service you left nothing?

here is a definition for you all:

stiff: cheat (someone) out of something, esp. money

if your service was that bad leave them a dollar...
honestly, any good server will know when they have given bad sesrvice and wouldn't expect anything more, but also not anything less. 
if you stiff someone because you don't have money, you shouldn't have been eating anywhere other than at home in the first place.
3. now this is just what i expected while bartending...
for every drink i serve you, i expect $1.00 added to my tip - that is aside from the tip for your meal. 
and if you aren't tipping at least 15%, take your cheap, sorry ass back home (this excludes the tips of bad service).
4. i'm sorry my job is so "easy and pathetic", but you are not better than me.
if that were the case - for those of you that reallly know me - do you really think i would choose to be a server AGAIN? well the answer is "NO!"
simply because i am a hard worker that likes to work for my money.  i get bored easily. and i'll be honest, i enjoy being told again and again how good of a job i am doing, and i am going to be cocky for a second here, but frankly, i know i am one hell of a server.
and i don't appreciate feeling intimidated or belittled  - would you at your job?
5. look around you.
is the restaurant busy?
does your server look like a chicken with it's head cut off?
ok, so sorry your food is taking a little longer than what it should.
is that your servers fault?
unless they forgot to put in your order, no!
any decent server will keep your drinks full while you wait and keep you informed on the waiting time.
in the mean time... "hold your flippin horses my friends."
if you were in a hurry, i'm sure there was a mcdonald's you passed on your way in?
6. this is something that comes with the job, and shouldn't be the customers worry, but i'll let you know anyways.
there is something called tipshare where a certain percentage of servers sales, so the money i owe at the end of the night to the restaurant,  gets taken and divided amongst bartenders and sometimes host.
for example:
at joe's 3% of my total sales is added to what i owe at the end of every shift.
so yesterday i worked 8 hours (and 42 minutes).
in that time i made $1087.30 in sales (off 15 tables).
i made $155.00 in tips before tipshare.
that is money that i worked hard for, but because the host cleaned my tables and the bartended made my alcoholic beverages, i lost $32.62 of my tips.
if you think about it... if you tip me $3.00 on a check for $100, i didn't make any money off that tip because those $3.00 paid my tipshare (and well that was a shitty tip anyways).
7. tips are taxed right along with my hourly wage. 
here is a picture for you:
on my last paycheck $170.00 were taken out in taxes and all that other fun stuff.
what i got to take home as $164.00, and that's for two weeks.

see why tips mean everything to servers?

so here are some personal stories so you can see exactly where i am coming from:

i have only ever been stiffed once.
it was a slower night at joe's and i probably only had three tables at the time.
it was a table of three: a couple probably in their mid to late twenties and another girl, same age. 
they had been to joe's before except for the guy, who happened to be taking the check at the end of the meal.
they had two steampots (which are $20-40 a piece) and some smaller meal - check was $112.00 at the end of their meal.
i kept their drinks full without them ever asking for refills. 
brought them extra hand wipes when they asked for them. 
their food was out early. 
they even got dessert.
i answered questions and offered up suggestions, which they listened to.
let them know they got to take mason jars home with them and wrapped them up for them.
probably the best service i ever gave.
they left without tipping even a penny.

so just last monday, st. patrick's day, we had two servers and two chefs, one manager and two hosts. 
now on any normal monday, we have i don't know how many chefs, but at least six servers and two managers and a bartender and two to three hosts, because mondays are a hit or miss. 
but of course on a holiday, they understaff. 
we got hit hard with 30 - 40 minute waits with over half our restaurant open. 
(but there is no way two new servers can take on 50 tables all at once)
we had one reservation for the whole night for a table of ten.
by the time that reservation had sat, they had waited twenty minutes beyond their reservation time.
some at the table were understanding, while others were not.
but i got their drinks, took their order, and kept drinks full while they waited on food.
when their food was ready and i delivered it, i swapped two plates on accidnt (maui mahi and the sunset salmon) that looked almost identical. 
i apologized and being salads were out with the meal they were ok with waiting a while longer for their food to be remade.
before i delivered their check, one of the younger guys told me that he could see that i was very busy, the restaurant was very busy, and that we were understaffed, and that he really appreciated me giving them the best service i could.
on a check of almost $150.00, they left me with a $27.00 tip.

no, i don't always give perfect service.
this i will admit.
i had a table of 8: a mom and dad, grandparents, and some children.
we weren't busy so i got to the table early.
got their drink order.
delivered drinks.
took their food order, and at that time the mom had asked for strawberry daquari.
as i put in their order, i skipped over the mixed drink and forgot to ring it in.
before their food was ready i got sat another table, and while i was waiting on them, my 8 top called me over and asked where the daquari was (it had been at least ten minutes that had passed). 
i told the bar tender i needed it right away as i put in the drink order and delivered it within two minutes. 
by that time their food was ready so i delivered it and asked if there was anything more i could get them.
silverware.
i forgot to bring silverware.
even with just those two mistakes i knew my service was not good, to say the least.
their check was just over $100.00 and they left me with $3.00 for a tip.
did i expect it?
yes!
did i expect anything more?
no, i actually expected less, by the reactions i got for the grandfather that paid for it all!

basically,
don't go out to eat if you can't afford a 15% tip.
don't EVER stiff your server... even if it's bad service.
$1.00 per drink and don't forget the food tip too.
lose the attitude because more than likely it isn't your servers fault.
we are working just as hard, if not harder, at our job as you do at yours.

all work... and play

all work:

it's been a while - sorry.

i've been trying to get used to the hours, or schedule, at the new job.

last week seemed to be a bit unorganized: lunch shift one day, dinner shift the next, morning shift again, then a double shift, oh and another morning shift after having worked all day the day before - it is exhausting. 

but i do like love it.

tips are awesome.

coworkers are nice.

management is laid back.

and the atmosphere, altogether, is fun.

just to brag a little:

one of my managers told me that him and the other manager had been talking and think that i am "doing a great job, and keep up the good work."

also, i'm only used to storm lake, iowa, small town, small restaurants, kind of tips. so my first week of serving on my own, it was like christmas for me when i was averaging $15, $18, and even $25 per hour during my shifts - SCORE!

...and play

a couple of weekends ago, keifer and i went on a party bus for one of his friend's birthday.

that was definitely something different, but fun.

we went bar hoping to three small bars in the west des moines area before heading downtown where we ended our night at one other bar before catching a cab back home. 

we also just had a date night at the funny bone comedy club, which was a good time and something new to me as well. 

and with keifer's birthday coming up, we might even be going to a hockey game.

(lots of things to do in a bigger city that are new to me)

just a couple of side notes:

- easton has finally warmed up to whitney (for those of you that have forgot, that is my roommate). 

- dillon moved back home for good this time ha. so i enjoy getting to see him more often, being he lives with keifer... we actually just had a lunch date this last week at joe's crab shack (50% off our meals, so why wouldn't we).

- i'm going to have to say the biggest perk for me though, right now, is living ten minutes from erin's salon and thirty minutes from her, shane, and the girls - it's only a matter of short time before she bans me from seeing her more than once a month ha.

- i've come to the realization that i can't be as busy or tired as i say i am when i point out to myself that i finished the first season of sons of anarchy in five days and about to finish the second season today, which would only have taken me four days to finish it. ha.

- i live in a bad location. 

ok, no it's a good location as far as the part of des moines and neighborhood that i live in. but bad because i am four minutes from valley west mall and ten minutes from jordan creek mall. shopping addicts and people with credit cards (both of which are me) should never live anywhere remotely that close to malls.

and while i do miss all my family back in the (712), as things begin falling more and more into place, i couldn't be happier with the decision i made.

help me!

my life is over.

eight seasons of dexter and they stopped the show...

and yesterday i finished the last episode of the eighth season.

now what in the hell am i going to do with my life.

i have a job, so that's something.

but...

when i am getting ready for my day,

when i am in between my two shifts,

when i want to watch something as i lay down for the night,

when i have a day off, like today,

what am i going to do with myself - let me tell you, there is only so much cleaning one can do in a day.

so,

i guess the point of this post is i need some input on what show to watch next.

please, do not throw out anymore suggestions.

i am already stir crazy with the shows i have wanted to start watching for the longest time but already have so many shows i watch i haven't got a chance to start them.

like i said, dexter is over so that is one less show.

and the other shows are in between seasons: 

nashville 

parenthood

and grey's anatomy

as soon as the second season of 

the following 

is on netflix i will be watching that again.

so what will it be?

1. the walking dead

2. sex and the city

3. house of cards

4. sons of anarchy

5. how i met your mother

6. gossip girl

there they are...

so...?

"i got crabs..."

"...at joe's crab shack."

ok, no i didn't really get crabs - duh.

it's my new job!

YAY!!

yesterday was only my second day of training, which is intense.

and i have a whole week of "crab class" - yes, it is really called "crab class".

i have to take a test after every classroom session, passing with a 90% or better, or i have to retake the test - from the handbook to basic concepts to the menu.

the difference with the menu...

it has to be known like i know the back of my hand.

i have a final test at the end of training over it and if i don't pass, i have to retake the menu portion of "crab class" over again.

god lord, i NEVER studied this hard in school - i even have notecards made.

other than that test...

i already like it:

it's a laid back and fun atmosphere.

my co-workers all seem nice.

and being that seafood is not cheap, tips are $$$$.

i will be full-time there, until i find a full-time job elsewhere and then i will be part-time there (i guess that is a BIG if i find a job).

my new journey is finally in full swing:

new apartment

new roommate

new job.

and i couldn't be happier - maybe i little less stressed (seriously if you want an idea of how stressed i am, quit your job for a month with zero income... while trying to find a new job with zero decent work experience... and heads up, BILLS DON'T STOP COMING just because the income stopped coming... yicks).

but still, couldn't be happier.

so if you are ever in des moines,

stop by joe's crab shack on south jordan creek parkway next to jordan creek mall, and request me as your server - unless you don't plan on tipping me well, then you can request someone else... please. ha.

2014 goals

not something i usually do.

but i've had some change to my life right at the beginning of the year.

and i'll be the first to say it,

my life needs a little order to it now.

the number of interviews i have been having, and the wide range of questions i have been asked, have really got me thinking about both short term and long term goals.

keep in mind: this is just goals for 2014 - so obviously the short term goals.

some being a little more serious than others.

(this is a list i am sure i will be adding to here and there for when life brings changes, it brings new goals)

1. get a job

seriously though, i need a job, ha

2. pay off credit cards

yes, plural... don't judge me

3. get a gym membership - tanning included

i don't need those "you are thin as a twig. what do you need to workout for?" comments - dr. oz says i am 13 years older than i actually am.

4. shop less

5. build up some savings - at least $1000

a thousand may not be a lot, but that on top of all the things that i want to pay off this year is quite a bit of money

6. read at least 1 book

ok, 1 book may be NOTHING to some of you but it would be a huge accomplishment for me

7. pay off loan

8. prepare to go back to school beginning of 2015 - part-time.

9. learn how to cook more than box, frozen, microwavable meals

10. get a new bed

mine has turned into a hammock; it's so old

11. be positive

this one is my new year's resolution which has been going extremely well

12. keep up with my blog

13. go on a tennis road trip with keifer, jason, and emily in august

14. watch all seasons of dexter so i can start watching a new show

15. keep my relationship alive

16. go to a football game